Tuesday B1G Blog Roundup: History Was (Mostly) Repeated

God, the Big Ten really blows. I hate saying it, but it's a sad reality, and it's time that we start to recognize it. I still love you, Big Ten, but you make it hard sometimes. Here's what the SB Nation blogs are saying...

Indiana 44, Penn State 24:

- Much to The Crimson Quarry's delight, their prediction going into Saturday's game was wrong. To be fair, they had never beaten the Nittany Lions, and they were 3.5 point underdogs at home. Plus, they just haven't been good since almost forever. Today? Crimson Quarry rightfully has a good feeling that Saturday was the start of something good. And as fans of specific B1G teams, to be sure, but the conference as a whole, we should be embracing the possible emergence of a good team. Next up for Indiana: at Michigan State.

- Black Shoe Diaries recognizes that BOB can't do everything by himself, but they go a little too far in saying that Indiana isn't a good team. I'd agree if they said the Hoosiers weren't great, but saying that they aren't good isn't quite accurate. BSD also analyzes what happened on Saturday, and then takes a needless shot at Indiana's graduation rate and recruitment of JUCO players. Hey, guys, you lost. Sure, maybe you yacked it up a little bit, but the Hoosiers of the past wouldn't have been able to take advantage of a down opponent. Make no mistake, this game was as much taken from you as you gave it up. Next up for Penn State: Michigan

Nebraska 39, Illinois 19:

- Ameer Abdullah had 240 rushing yards on Saturday, and Tommy Armstrong had an acceptable day at QB. Husker Mike at Corn Nation hands out the report card on the Huskers' play from Saturday. Apparently it was a windy day in Lincoln. There is nothing worse than wind in Nebraska, since there are no natural features to break it up...it's a flat, terrible place, and I think that's why they are typically pretty successful at home. Teams just can't handle being in one of the most god-forsaken places on earth. Although this next Corn Nation link doesn't have anything to do with the game against Illinois, it's worth reading for the issue with ESPN's David Pollack being a total asshole. How the poll at the end of this article doesn't have 100% voting for his gaffe, I have no idea.

- Illinois fans and pundits were pretty proud of that 3-1 record to start the season, but The Champaign Room puts it into perspective after Saturday's loss at Nebraska. As of writing this, that's about all they have out there for a recap; they must be sitting in a corner with the lights off.

Michigan State 26, Iowa 14:

- Michigan State showed some offense and won by the gigantic margin of...12 points. Whoo! Head over to The Only Colors so you can read about the excitement over being ranked the 121st passing attack in the country. I really love the confidence in TOC's predictions, too. Yep, based on this performance, it's clear that Michigan State is going to run away with the division, because defense wins championships, right? Um, that's true to a point, but I doubt that that old cliche means that you don't have to field an offense. Next for MSU: Indiana (this could be very interesting).

- Jake Rudock had 241 yards passing for the Hawkeyes, which isn't all that bad. But, the team had a total of 264 yards of offense. That means the Iowa rushing game gained only 23 yards. That's not good at all. Yeah, Michigan State's defense is good, but holy crap! You can read BHGP's initial reaction to the loss here. I bet there's a lot of vomit associated with it. There were four factors that Iowa needed to win in order to win the game, but apparently they don't read BHGP. For everyone with Iowa on the schedule, the scouting report says fake a punt against the Hawkeyes, they like giving up that play. Next for Iowa: at Ohio State (10/19).

Ohio State 40, Northwestern 30:

- I've been saying that Ohio State is beatable because of their secondary. Well, Land-Grant Holy Land writes an entire piece on the susceptible secondary. They're allowing 19.2 points per game, but that is skewed a great deal by the gigantic zero by FAMU. Look at how the Buckeyes have actually had to eke out victories against some of their opponents, but specifically against their first two B1G foes. Beating Wisconsin by seven, and Northwestern by ten is a huge red flag, and we all know that Michigan prepares for the Buckeyes all year long. LGHL still has a roadmap for OSU to reach the national title, but I gua-ran-tee that OSU will NOT play in that game. If they do make it, I'll buy you a Coke. Next: Iowa (10/19).

- Northwestern is just trying to move on after Saturday's loss. Sippin' On Purple weren't totally sure that they'd win, but they also realized that the game was going to be close. Now that they've moved on, they're looking toward Wisconsin, but may be without a key component on defense. Rodger Sherman also takes a look at being double-digit dogs to the Badgers on October 12 in Madison.

Michigan 42, Minnesota 13:

- The Daily Gopher wants to point out that the Gophers are young and that patience is definitely a virtue when it comes to being a fan of Minnesota football. Mitch Leidner actually looked pretty good; he ran well, and he did an admirable job getting the ball to a receiving corps that needs a little more ripening. Once again, we need to wish a speedy recovery to Gophers coach Jerry Kill, who suffered another seizure on Saturday. We're Midwesterners, so we can beat the hell out of you on the field, but then show friendship and compassion when it's all over. Next up for Minnesota: at Northwestern (10/19).

- For us, Zach takes a look at what went right for the Wolverines, and Fouad has a very good analysis of the game here. Saturday was my daughter's first time in the Big House, and I wrote a little something for/about her. It was a good weekend for the Maize and Blue, but there's a tough test coming against Penn State on the road this week.